Eagles-Cowboys rewind

Monday

The Eaglesí playoff balloon that, week after week, was kept afloat by hope that this team would win or that team would lose or something else crazy would occur, finally went pop.

Andy Reid may have the most wins any head coach ever had against the Cowboys ó 17 of them, including Saturdayís 20-7 win ó but he no longer has a grip on the postseason. This is the first year the Eagles wonít make the playoffs since 2007, and just the fourth time under Reidís watch they wonít get a chance to compete for the Lombardi Trophy.

Funny thing is, this was the season that may have had the most Super Bowl expectations heaped upon it.

Another funny thing is that the Eagles are 4-1 against the NFC East, which is a better record than any of the other three teams have, including the Cowboys and Giants, who will play each other Sunday night in North Jersey for the right to be crowned champion of the division.

Never mind that the Birds are 2-0 against the Cowboys and 1-1 against the Giants this year.

One of them will continue on into January, the other wonít.

Maybe none of it is that funny.

Still, though, one game remains in a season that went bust, betrayed by a 1-4 start.

The Washington Redskins visit on New Yearís Day. The win would give the Eagles a 5-1 record inside their division.

None of it matters.

Ah, but there was Sundayís win over hated rival Dallas. Always a treat no matter how lost a season it is.

To the DVR:

Good start

Before it became crystal clear that the Giants would beat the Jets and quiet for good the Eaglesí playoff hopes, the Eagles came out flying.

They moved the ball 80 yards in just eight plays and 3 minutes, 30 seconds on the first offensive possession of the game.

The play featured a nice leaping reception by Riley Cooper for a 28-yard gain. On the play, Vick was face masked and moved the ball inside Dallasí red zone. The touchdown came on a dart thrown by Vick to tight end Brent Celek, a play that covered 13 yards and came with 11:30 left in the opening quarter.

On the drive, Vick was 4-for-6 with completions to four different receivers: Cooper, Celek, Jeremy Maclin and Clay Harbor.

It was the third time this year the Eagles scored a touchdown on their opening drive. Under Reid, the Eagles are 55-14 when scoring on their opening drive.

Ryan Brothers, Inc.

The Eagles totaled 99 points and 1,301 total net yards in three games against twin brothers Rex (head coach Jets) and Rob Ryan (defensive coordinator Cowboys) this year, while converting 17 of 35 third downs.

Also, quarterback Michael Vickís top three performances this season have come against the Ryan-coached defenses, throwing for a combined 846 yards with 54 completions in 82 attempts with five touchdowns and a passer rating of 115.2.

Sack attack

Jason Babin didnít have a sack and remains at 18, a half-sack behind top sacker Jared Allen of the Vikings. But Trent Cole did.

Cole zipped around Cowboys tackle Doug Free in the third quarter for his 10th of the season, which gave him his third straight season ó and fourth in the last five years ó of double-digit sacks. He just missed a double-digit sack season in 2008 when he had nine.

Only Reggie White, with eight, has more double-digit sack seasons.

Thatís not all. The last time the Eagles defense had two players with 10-plus sacks in the same season was 1995 when William Fuller (13) and Andy Harmon (11) did it.

As a team, the Eagles have 49 sacks, including three against Dallas on Sunday.

Punting woes

For the second time in three games, rookie punter Chas Henry had a punt blocked. Like the one in Miami, this one, too, led to a touchdown. Unlike the one in Miami, this one cost the Eagles a shutout that would have been rather historic.

The last time Dallas had been blanked at home was in 1991 when an Eagles defense, coached by Bud Carson, sacked Troy Aikman 11 times. The game also happened to be the last time the Eagles threw a road shutout.

Donít be surprised if the Eagles search for a new punter in the offseaon. Henry was inconsistent most of the year and, on this recent punt block, he seemed to hold the ball too long before kicking it.

Oh Henery

The teamís other kicker, Alex Henery, booted field goals from 43 and 51 yards, giving him 14 straight makes. His last miss ó and there were two critical ones, make no mistake ó came in that horrid come-from-ahead loss to the Niners on Oct. 2.

Since then, the rookie fourth-round pick has flourished and will be back again next season ó deservedly so. He is 22-for-25 on the season (88 percent), which is the second-highest percentage in team history behind David Akersí 88.2 percent (30-for-34) in 2002.

Henery also has 108 points this season, which is the second-most ever by an Eagles rookie kicker behind Paul McFaddenís 116 in 1984.

Missing Colt

Since special teams extraordinaire Colt Anderson tore an ACL, the Eaglesí kickoff coverage teams have struggled. It started last week when the Jetsí Antonio Cromartie gave the Jets good field position and continued against Dallas, particularly on a 51-yard return after Henery booted a career-best 51 yard field goal early in the fourth quarter.

Those kinds of returns didnít happen with Anderson in there.

Brief observations

The Eagles swept the Cowboys for the first time since 2006. They outscored them 54-14 this season, their largest margin of victory over Dallas since outscoring them by 55 points in 2002.

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